A few years ago, an extreme branch of al-Qaeda proclaimed itself a caliphate in the Middle East. Today, the entire world has witnessed the brutal crimes committed by ISIS against humanity, including beheadings and other horrific acts of violence, as well as the illegal seizure and destruction of public and private property in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. For this reason, many people think that Islam requires fighting non-Muslims, killing them, invading other lands, etc. All these thoughts about Islam are totally wrong. Islam does not support any form of terrorism. Islam is not responsible for any terrorist operation conducted by any movement that refers to Islam. According to the text mentioned in the Holy Quran, killing one person is like killing all humanity, and saving one person is like saving all humanity. I wonder how some people can think that a religion that includes this text in its religious book is responsible for such crimes. The problem is not Islam itself, but how people understand Islam and how Muslims represent Islam. In fact, I think many people should focus more on the reason for the spread of terrorism among Muslims, instead of focusing on the religion or country producing these movements. In other words, they must realize that ... middle of paper ... ...they protect themselves from those who try to attack Muslims. Unfortunately, many Islamic extremists throughout the Islamic world, particularly in Saudi Arabia, misunderstand this concept or try to use it as justification for their bad practices against civilians in other Western countries. In fact, I would prefer to discuss Lesser Jihad in a separate blog post that incorporates Al Qa'eda as a terrorist movement that interprets Jihad however it wants. Works cited: Cook, David. “The Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad”. Understanding Jihad. Berkeley and Los Angeles: The Regents of the University of California, 2005. 35-39. Press.